MacNeill — Ancient Irish Lmo : Latv of Status or Franchise. 281 



V 112. — 56. A master over kings is the King of Munster. Twice seven 

 cumals are his dlra. Two beeves and two bacon hogs for the six score of 

 his company, and two hundred cakes. A year's protection for him. A noble 

 master bishop, the same amount ; a master of the great canon (?), the same 

 amount ; such as Immliuch Ibair or Corcach Mor of Munster.' 



57. Who is not of good means is not of good merit. 



58. A master of fili and a master of wisdom and a master hospitaller, each 

 of them is equal in franchise to the king of one tuath. They have thirty 

 chattels (of honourpriee) and a month's protection, and eighty cakes, for each 

 of them.' 



V 112. — 59. A second master of the Letter and an dnruth filed and a chief 

 master of handicraft, are equal in franchise to an aire ardd. 



V 114. — 60. A master of test, blacksmith, or whitesmith, or brasier, who 

 is raised to franchise by the hmfh, each of them is equal in franchise to an 

 aire d^sso? 



Crith Gablach. 



IV 298.— 61. [Why is Crith Qablach so called ? Answer— Because the 

 man of a tuath (= the citizen) of his good means in the tuath purchases that he 

 be reckoned in his proper grade in which he is in the tuath. Or because of 

 the number of branches into which the grades of a tuath are subdivided. 



Question — How many subdivisions of these ? Seven.]* 



1 " A master of the great canon (?)" : Atkinson's proposed emendation \rtidr-'] chcdhrach, 

 for mor canach fits in with the clause that follows. The translation then would be 

 "master of (the school of) a great city (= episcopal see), such as," etc. 



^ " Master of wisdom," ollum gdise, ace. to the gloss, a master jurist. 



' " Master of test," ollamfoccail : gloss, in ti foclaiter conid ollam, " he who is tested 

 so that he becomes a master." Fovfocul, "test," see II 242, 244, trifocuil A. tr-i fromaid. 

 The etymological glosR fo 'tacail, II 242, points to foccal, with cc = k. This article shows 

 that the franchise of a master craftsman was conferred on him by the tuath. The com- 

 mentary, pp. 112, 114, speaks of the appointment, uirdned, of the " second master of the 

 Letter," and of the dnruth, or fili of the second degree, the person who appoints being 

 the king of a tuath, the king of a morthuath, the king of a Fifth, or the king of Ireland. 

 It is clear, however, that appointment by tlie king of one tuath was of no special effect, 

 giving no increase in status (see 114, 14 and 16, 10) ; which implies that appointment by 

 a king took special efiect only when the king was overking of a number of tuatha. There 

 were seven persons or places in a tuath to which notices of a find of lost property were 

 given (III 273) : king, monastic chief [airchinnech] , hospitaller, (the king's) brithem, the 

 chief smith {prmgoha), the mill of the tuath, the people of the homestead and village 

 where the find was made. It is therefore to be inferred that in each tv.ath there was a 

 chief of each craft who was appointed by the tuath, i.e. by public election, and who thus 

 acquired status on a level with the lowest grade of ruling noble. 



* It seems unlikely, though not impossible, that the author of this tract began by 

 inventing a title for it and ofl'ering alternative explanations for it, and therefore these 



K.I.A. PROC, VOIj. XXSVI, SECT. c. [32] 



